Alongside the launch of their Dota 2 channel, Betway has today announced its partnership with Invictus Gaming for the upcoming professional season, including The International 8.
The deal will grant the bookmaker exclusive rights to the team for content creation as well as a jersey sponsor throughout The International 8 and the 2018-2019 season.
The deal puts Betway’s first fingerprint on the professional Dota 2 scene after a streamline of partnership deals had worked to establish them as something of a market leader in CS:GO. Invictus Gaming themselves is a Chinese Dota 2 team with a prosperous history; having won The International 2, the squad has brought in a number of A-list players since its inception in 2011.
Betway CEO, Anthony Werkman, commented on the announcement saying: “We are delighted to seal this sponsorship deal with Invictus Gaming, which marks our entry into the Dota 2 market. A strong brand with a rich history in esports, Invictus Gaming are one of the few teams to win The International, and we are extremely proud to bring them into the Betway family. After seeing incredible success in CSGO, we can’t wait to replicate our market leading content in Dota 2 through this landmark partnership.”
Additionally, Betway announced today a special promotion dubbed “Win the group, win your bet” – by placing an outright wager on one of the teams at TI8, you can cash in on that bet slip assuming they win 
the group. Terms and conditions apply though, so just make sure to read the fine print if you plan on taking advantage of this offer.
The calibre of The International has attracted a number of companies looking to capitalise on the exposure yielded from the prestigious tournament. Speaking on behalf of bookmakers only, OpTic Gaming inked a jersey sponsorship just last week with esports betting platform VKGame, conveniently in time to debut at TI8. Considering the magnitude of this tournament, it’s not hard to tell why brands are jumping on the opportunity to partner with a team that could potentially be lifting The International trophy on August 25. Invictus Gaming will commence their TI8 journey under the distinguished Betway brand against Mineski during tomorrow’s group play.
Esports Insider says: The International is the choice moment for new sponsors to take pen to paper and link their brands with Dota 2 teams. Being that The International is the season finisher, it grants sponsors a tremendous amount of exposure from the start followed by a full season of Dota action.
The Head of Esports at Betway Adam Savinson, and Ninjas in Pyjamas CEO Hicham Chahine, will be discussing their partnership on the opening session of the Betting on Esports track at our ESI London conference in September